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East Bay Greenway Awarded Active Transportation Program Grant

Sep 19, 2014 at 11:23am

$2.656 million state grant will help fulfill community vision to transform 15 miles under the BART tracks from Oakland to Hayward into a bicycle and pedestrian path.

The California Transportation Commission announced on August 20, 2014 that it will fully fund Alameda CTC's request for $2.6 million in Active Transportation Program funding to support planning efforts for the East Bay Greenway Project.

Planning efforts funded through this grant will focus on advancing a 15-mile stretch of the Greenway along the spine of Alameda County, forming a critical link in a multimodal transportation network, and providing the more than 189,000 residents, 43,000 workers and 38,000 students who live, work or attend school nearby with safe, separated from traffic, pedestrian and bicycle access to buses and BART, downtowns, commercial districts and industrial job centers.

The Active Transportation Program (ATP) was created in 2013 by the State Legislature to encourage increased use of active modes of transportation, including biking and walking and to increase the safety and mobility of non-motorized users, enhance public health and help achieve state greenhouse gas reduction goals. Alameda CTC's East Bay Greenway grant is one of only 124 projects supported by more than $183 million in highly competitive ATP first round funding. Only 12 Bay Area projects were funded and more than $1 billion worth of requests were submitted.

"The greenway will be transformative for community health and safety," says Alameda CTC Executive Director Arthur L. Dao. "It will transform the space under the elevated BART tracks from Oakland through San Leandro, unincorporated Alameda County and Hayward, into a high-quality active transportation facility, open space and community asset."

A half-mile of the East Bay Greenway (from the Coliseum BART Station to 85th Avenue in Oakland) received a federal TIGER II grant and is currently under construction. Also funded by the East Bay Regional Park District's Measure WW and Alameda CTC's Measure B, this important first segment will open this fall.